episode_0086

“First of all, since the village has become my territory, I plan to develop it.”

With four people in front of me, the first thing I did was talk about what I thought was the development of the village.

And, as we talked about the development of the village, the faces of the village chief and the guard captain instantly brightened. This is because the existing lord, Viscount Tarr, was not very interested in the village, having only told him to develop it. There was no significant investment in developing the city or anything, and only taxes were collected.

“M… … . No, my lord. If so, is there a direction you have in mind?”

The village chief, who had been meaning to call me Baron but quickly changed the title to Lord, asked me about my future plans.

To be honest, I didn’t think I would become a lord so quickly, so I didn’t think about it in detail, but it was something I had been thinking about since I was building a new blacksmith shop.

“First of all, we will increase the size of the village. As we expand the wooden fence, we plan to change it to a stronger steel fence.”

“Yes? What is a steel book?”

When I mentioned the iron-wood policy, the guard commander reacted quickly. It seemed like the fence was the most important thing for the village’s defense.

“Long, thick, iron pillars are driven in two layers at regular intervals, and then logs are laid between the iron pillars. It is easy to stack high, and even if there is damage, all you have to do is remove the damaged log and replace it with a new log. Additionally, you could add an iron plate to the front to make the defense stronger.”

“Oh, oh… … !”

The guard captain seemed very impressed when he heard that, even if it was not a castle wall made of stone, he would build an iron wall made of iron. Compared to the wooden fence, it gained an incredible level of defense power.

Seeing the guard captain looking happy as if he was moved, I shrugged my shoulders and continued the story.

“Anyway, we are going to expand the village. Basically, it’s divided into zones. We plan to separate and expand the industrial district where industries such as blacksmiths will gather, the commercial district where shops will be gathered, and the residential district where people will live.”

“The center or starting point of the industrial district will be based on the blacksmith shop you are currently building?”

“That’s right. Right now, the residential district will be based on the current village, and I think it would be better to create a commercial district somewhere between the industrial district and the residential district.”

“Does that mean that the location of the commercial district will be moved out of the village? If that happens, what do you plan to do with the stores inside the village?”

When I said that we would create separate districts like a planned city, the village chief asked a question with a face full of curiosity and concern.

“Based on today’s standards, it is true that we will be leaving the village. Later, when the iron fence is built, it will be within the village. And, the stores that are currently inside will be asked to relocate. Of course, it doesn’t mean you just go there, it gives you your own reward.”

Even though I became a lord, I had no intention of exploiting the people of the territory. The plan was to create a city with a neat plan and resolve any issues that would arise in the process as smoothly as possible. Of course, I didn’t intend to spread it too much.

“Oh, and the roads will also be made bigger and stronger. Since I move heavy things on a cart skeleton, the roads have to be good.”

Of course, road maintenance was also in my plans. All iron products weighed quite a bit compared to their volume. If you put a lot of weight on the cart skeleton, it would gain an enormous amount of weight, and if it rained, the floor would be soggy that it would be very cumbersome to move it. After it passed, it became a hindrance to people passing by.

Road maintenance was essential because it was planned to separate the industrial district where blacksmith shops would be located and the commercial district where goods would be sold. In order to transport goods from the industrial district to the commercial district, roads had to be strong.

Additionally, if the village later becomes a city or a large city, it was planned to create a means of transportation so that it would inevitably be possible to move around the territory easily. To achieve this, we need to build the road properly from the beginning.

In addition, the story continued briefly about the plan to create a city. We talked about taxes, the newly built temple, and how to use the skeletons in the village.

“Is a temple really coming to the village?”

“Yes, thanks to Viscount Tarr’s nonsense, the temple has decided to come to our village.”

When the village chief asked a question while looking at the priests, the priests nodded. After confirming that a temple would be built in the village, the village chief smiled the brightest smile he had ever seen.

I laughed lightly at the sight of him shaking his hips as if he wanted to tell the villagers this news right away, and this time I talked to the priests. It was confirmed that the temple would be built, but it was necessary to discuss the location and architecture.

“The temple is going to be built between the residential district and the commercial district. What do you think? Most of the industrial district will probably be run by skeletons, so it doesn’t need to be close to the temple.”

“I think it’s good because we can get closer to the residents of the territory.”

“What will you do about architecture? Would you like to provide separate support?”

“Ah, there are carpenters who belong to our denomination, so we can build the temple ourselves. However, there may be a need to hire workers, and I would like some help with that.”

“Would it be difficult to use skeletons instead of workers?”

“The wood used in construction is blessed with divine power, so wouldn’t it be a little difficult for the skeletons?”

“Oh, then it must be difficult in many ways.”

If it was wood blessed with divine power, it was enough to damage the skeleton. It’s not like it melted as soon as it touched it, but it still wouldn’t have been okay. Moreover, it was clear that if the skeleton touched the wood that had been blessed, it would have the effect of weakening the blessing on the wood.

“Chief. Are there people among the residents who can participate in the construction of the temple?”

“It’s time to start farming, so there aren’t many, but… … There are a few people looking for jobs. Even children who have just become adults are looking for jobs.”

Hearing that there were several people looking for work, it was decided to immediately put them to work building the temple.

If jobs had to be created anyway and a temple had to be built, it was right to put them in. Since they were not being exploited without pay and had the advantage of making money in the territory, deploying them was the best option.

“Andrew Warlock. Is it okay if we collect the materials separately?”

“Material? Oh, wood? Let me help you with that. Since we need a lot of logs to make ironwood books anyway, let’s get some to use for building a temple.”

“Thank you.”

Getting wood wasn’t difficult. All they had to do was send the skeleton to a nearby forest and have it cut down a tree. Just like mining in a mine, it wasn’t difficult to get the wood to be cut down. There was no problem with blessing the wood, as simply gathering it did not cause strong dark magic or the energy of death.

Anyway, after we finished talking about building the temple, the parts that needed to be discussed right away were concluded.

And Father Vidis, who realized that the story was over, was the first to stand up.

“I will go to the denomination first, explain the situation, and then return after finalizing the branch relocation.”

“Father Vidis, while you are there, I would like you to also report the fact about the acquisition of Andrew Warlock’s territory. Also, since it can be dangerous to move alone, it would be better to have the paladins who came with me accompany you. It’s almost time for the Holy Knights to change missions, so please come along.”

“Okay. Then I will make the first move.”

Father Vidis left the parlor immediately, saying he would come back soon.

The village chief, who saw Father Vidis disappearing in an instant, quietly got up from his seat.

“Then I’ll just get up. I need to explain to the villagers that our lord has changed to a new person and what his future plans are.”

I nodded lightly when the village chief said that he would briefly summarize the stories shared here and explain them to the villagers. I had to give some explanation to the villagers anyway, and there was no reason to refuse when the village chief said he would do it for me.

And, as Father Bidis and the village chief left, the guard captain, who had been watching secretly, also shook his butt.

“Ah. Uncle, wait a minute. We’re going to promote the guards to territory soldiers, so we need to talk about that.”

Of course, what I said next made my butt calm down.

“Um… … . Well then, I guess it’s my turn to leave this time?”

“Oh, that’s not necessarily the case, but if you have something to do, you can go first. The wood needed to build the temple will be needed to make iron fences anyway, so I will get it separately.”

“Still, there was some work to be done regarding the two cities that recently started new blood collection projects. Then, I will go first.”

Father Thomas left, saying he had to take care of something related to the blood collection business, and I immediately started talking to the guard commander.

There was talk about promoting the guards to territory soldiers and actively using skeletons, who previously were merely assistants to the guards. In particular, there was talk about deploying skeleton mages and skeleton knights, as well as the need for general guards to follow the instructions of those skeletons.

“Okay. Anyway, the crew knows how good the skeletons are, so I don’t think there will be much backlash.”

Since this village was no longer Viscount Tarr’s territory, but my territory, there was no problem in actively employing skeletons.

Having taken care of the guards, or rather the part about the permanent soldiers, I saw off the guard commander, who had left, saying that he would explain to those who had become permanent soldiers just like the village chief.

After seeing off the man who was leaving for the guard barracks, I came out and looked at the people walking around the village.

As I looked at the village people, or rather the people who were now my subjects, I felt even more strongly that I had become a lord for no reason. Now that I have become a lord, I plan to make my territory very powerful.

And, in order to achieve that, I immediately started moving.

We decided to complete the blacksmith shop first, with the intention of expanding the territory and making iron wooden fences that would provide strong protection.